Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul. It is the largest South Korean chaebol. Key subsidiaries include Samsung Electronics, Samsung Heavy Industries, Samsung Engineering and Samsung C&T.

SEOUL - A South Korean government agency said that working at a Samsung Electronics factory caused the breast cancer of a worker who died earlier this year. It is only the second time it has recognised a link between cancer and Samsung's chip plants. The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, part of the labour ministry, ruled this month there was a "considerable causal relationship" between the woman's cancer and her five years working at the plant. AP

Chinese woman held in crystal meth raid

BANGKOK - A Chinese woman and two Thai hill-tribesmen were arrested in a raid on the outskirts of Bangkok that netted US$800,000 worth of illegal stimulant crystal meth and half a million pills. Chinese national Chen Xiangye and the two northern tribesmen rented a house where police uncovered 50kg of crystal meth and 500,000 methamphetamine tablets inside two large suitcases. AFP

Trial of 24 'red shirt' protest leaders starts

BANGKOK - The terrorism trial of leaders of Thailand's 2010 "red shirt" protests has began, a day after a former premier was charged over his role in the bloody street battles which left scores dead in Bangkok. The 24 accused, who include five current lawmakers, could in theory face the death penalty in the case. About 90 people were killed and nearly 1,900 wounded in a series of street clashes between demonstrators and security forces, which culminated in a military crackdown in May 2010. AFP

False prophet faces blasphemy charges

KUTAI TIMUR - A man who allegedly claimed to be an Islamic prophet and tricked his male followers into allowing him to have sex with their wives and daughters has been arrested, Indonesian police said. The 48-year-old man was detained on the island of Borneo after several followers reported he had told them to pay him money or organise sexual relations with relatives to purify them of their sins. Police said he had spread "deviant" Islamic teachings for at least five years and could be jailed on charges of fraud and blasphemy in the world's biggest Muslim-majority country. AFP